The official blog of Writer Beware® shines a bright light into the dark corners of the shadow-world of literary scams, schemes, and pitfalls. Also providing advice for writers, industry news, and commentary. Writer Beware® is sponsored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association.
When Ann and I put the 20 Worst Agencies list online at Writer Beware, we didn’t think we’d have to be tinkering with it very much. Most of the agencies on the list have been around at least since 1998, when Writer Beware was founded. But in the world of questionable agents, a leopard canRead More
Once upon a time, when reading and evaluation fees were the commonest form of upfront fee, the amateur and disreputable agents who charged them justified them by claiming that it takes time to read a manuscript, and an agent shouldn’t be expected to do that for free. Where this argument falls apart: if a manuscriptRead More
Just a short blog post today to let you know a bit about how things have been going since I posted posts 54, 55 and 56, regarding getting scammed and asking people who have had problems with Robert Fletcher or any of his agencies to get in touch with me. I’ve gotten some very promisingRead More
For a number of years I’ve been getting questions about freelance editor Carol Givner. (If you open that link, be warned: Ms. Givner’s website is full of flashy, popup-y stuff.) Ms. Givner is a successful ebook author, though she doesn’t appear to have had much, if any, commercial publishing experience. Nevertheless, she charges professional ratesRead More
Because we can’t be serious all the time. 10. Your offer of representation comes via form letter (somehow, you never do get his phone number). 9. Whoever typed his contract didn’t use spel chek and can’t rite real gud neither. 8. You first heard of him when [pick one: you found his ad in theRead More
Many moons ago, a certain stealth vanity publisher–let’s call it PublishAmerica–decided to take a swipe at the various watchdog groups and anti-scam activists who were telling the truth about its deceptive business practices. So it slapped up a rebuttal website designed to provide misinformation about the real publishing industry and the watchdogs, under the guiseRead More
